


Loki - Learning how to love the unworthy

by ScorpyR



Category: Loki: Agent of Asgard, Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Asgard, Asgard (Marvel), Avengers - Freeform, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Loki - Freeform, Love Confessions, Marriage Proposal, Odin - Freeform, Rough Sex, Sex, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, The Avengers - Freeform, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 18:59:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18267434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorpyR/pseuds/ScorpyR
Summary: Loki was condemned for his crimes against Midgard. Even after helping save the nine realms from the Dark Elves, the frost giant must understand that everything we do has consequences. His father exiled him to Midgard for him to learn to respect other beings. Much against his desires, he was received by the Avengers to monitor him. What challenges is he going to face? What if someone he met made him review all his disgust about the human race?





	1. Chapter 1

After losing his mother, Loki was never the same. He was quiet, hurt as if the shiny light from his eyes was snapped away from him. Even his father could sense that anguish feeling hovering his son. But even though he loved his son more than ever, he had to show him that his consequences won't prevail unpunished. Everything we do has consequences. No matter who you are. Even if you're a prince.

"I beg your pardon?" Loki seemed like he was snapped out of his trance when his father summoned him and announced his decision about his sentence.

"Care to tell me what part of it you misunderstand?" Odin spoke with his typical superior timbre.

"The part where I'm going to live among inferior creatures." He spatted.

"That attitude is exactly why this punishment suits you. You need to understand why we cannot think about ourselves as superiors. And you shall do it without your powers."

"WHAT?" Loki's' eyes were red with anger boiling deep inside his veins. He loved his father and he hated him at the same time. It was infuriating.

"Thor will help you. You may return as soon as your exile is fulfilled. Go, my son, I hope you find yourself."

Loki tried to fight the guards as Odin stood in his mighty golden throne and hit his scepter on the ground, shaking it under Loki. He felt as if part of his soul was stolen away from him. His magic was everything left from his mother, and even that his... Odin wanted to take away.  _What_ _an_ _old_ _fool_ _._  He would teach him a lesson soon enough. 

Heimdal was waiting for the prince in the Bifrost, his golden armor shining from the other end of the rainbow bridge. Standing next to him was his brother, Thor, with his long blonde hair resting on his shoulders and on his red cape.

"Brother." Loki hissed.

"Loki," Thor returned. He was dying inside to hug his little brother that he thought he had lost in Svartalfheim **.** But -  _as_ _always_ \- his brother managed to escape faith with a grin on his face and mislead everyone to think he had died with honor, avenging his mother's' death. True, he fought by his side, but Thor couldn't help but curse him under his breath for the unnecessary morn he had caused.

"Have you decided where you're leaving your brother?" The raspy and sultry voice of Heimdal reverberated through the Bifrost. 

Thor smirked and Loki let out a groan in frustration. Whatever his brother had decided, it wouldn't be good.

And he wasn't wrong.

As soon as they landed on Midgard -  _his_ _new_ _home for_ _the_ _next_ _hundreds_ _of_ _years_ _,_ _he_ _hopes_ _-_ he immediately yelled at his brother.

"Are you out of your mind? Here?" He looked around him. The humans were such an uncommon species. They are doomed, for sure, but they seem... resilient. They seem to endure whatever comes in their ways. Loki thought of that for a second but then dismissed his traitor mind, back to the rage he felt for them.

"What a better place to start than the place you destroyed many years ago, brother? Come, our friends are waiting for your arrival."

"Friends?" Loki questioned with a doubtful look, but when he lifted his chin and looked in the same direction as his brother, he shook his head. "No... Oh, no, no, no. Don't you dare, brother!"

Thor smirked and pushed his brother by his shoulders to the front door of the tower. Sure he could just use his hammer to fly to the top of the Avengers tower instead of using the elevators, but it would be too easy for Loki. Deep inside he was actually thinking of it as a funny moment, his brother so confused with the dynamic of the building. And those elevators?  _Inventions from Hel, for sure._

_Good morning, Thor. Good morning,  Loki. The Avengers are waiting for you in the leaving room. Have a nice day._  

Loki jumped back, looking perplexed and startled around him, scanning the elevator for the source of that foreign voice. Thor laughed so loud that it echoed through the walls of that lifting box.

"What's so funny? Who was talking?"

"It's Jarvis. Tony's' assistant." Thor said as if he was an expert on the thing. "It's a computer program. Uh, Artificial Intelligence, I suppose?"

_Yes, Thor. I'm a product of years of hard work from Anthony Stark, an intelligent computer program that has access to every and any kind of information from our world and I'm here to assist you._

Loki eyed the speaker attentively, trying to decipher what kind of creature was that.

"Where the hell are you?"

_Nowhere and everywhere,_ Jarvis said.

"Are you mocking me?" Loki was feeling now filled with rage for the insolent man. His wrath ceased when Thor's' arms rested on his shoulders.

"Jarvis is a computer program. It does not exist, physically." Loki furrowed his brows at his brother and Thor laughed once again, all matter-of-factly. "Oh, brother you will have so much to learn about."

The door made a bing and Loki jumped back, once again, startled. He was confused about why the hell he was so jumpy that day. Maybe it was because he was in the world he tried to dominate years ago, and where everyone there would try to kill him at the first chance.

Thor had talked with his Midgardian friends about Loki's' exile. In one of his many visits to the world he loves so much, he was hanging out with his dearest friends in the Avengers Tower, just playing around. That's when he confessed his concerns about his brother's future and that's when Tony Stark had the most brilliant idea.

_"Why don't you_ _bring_ _him here? For his punishment he should learn to live among the race he despises so much."_ Tony said and everyone's' attention turned to him.

"You are mad, my friend." Thor laughed but for a second he considered the idea.

"Am I? Isn't it obvious? What better punishment than that?" He asked. "Besides, it would be funny."

"Funny is not the word I would use," Natasha muttered, drinking another sip of her Daiquiri.

"Oh, come on. Thor believes in his brother's' good heart. Maybe we can actually test that here. He would have to learn how to respect us. But of course," he turned to the God of thunder, "he should be left with no powers. Otherwise, he would kill us in our sleep and the Avengers ceased to exist." Tony looked around him and his eyes fell on the kitchen."On second thought, maybe we should also consider changing the cutlery to plastic ones."

"Do you have any idea what you're proposing?" Bruce asked indignantly, but Steve was the next to speak.

"I can't believe I'm saying this." Steve sighed. "But Tony is right."

Everyone's' head turned to Steve in admiration. 

"Is this the end of the world?" Tony whispered as he heard Captain America agree with him - something extremely rare. "Well, it's decided. Talk to your all-father Odin to arrange things. Loki will be so thrilled to spend time with us."

Thor rolled his eyes but he knew his Midgardian man of iron wanted nothing but help him - even if using sarcasm as a way of communication.

That's why he was now walking through the common area of the Avenger's' apartment with a hand on a shoulder of a reluctant Loki.

"Welcome home, reindeer games." Tony greeted Loki and Thor made him a grimace. "What?" Tony asked innocently and Loki exhaled in despair.

The rest of the Avengers were gathered on the couch, chilling while there were no new missions. They were playing Trivia with each other, making irritable noises while drinking Midgardian beverages. Loki's' blank expression couldn't translate nausea he was feeling inside for being there.

"Tony, I believe you vowed to treat my brother politely," Thor warned as Tony called the attention of everyone in that room.

"And I will. Don't worry, Blondie." He winked at Thor and for a moment Thor rethought what he was doing. He knows his brother deserves to be punished for his awful crimes. But maybe that idea was too much pain for his little brother as it was being to him. Then he remembered about his brother faking his own death in his arms and smiled at his Midgardian friends.

Thor guided Loki to the couch and indicated him to sit down. Loki was oddly quiet, scanning the room around him -  _probably thinking in a way to escape or even kill everyone in that room, including his own brother for putting him through this_ , Bruce thought, moving uncomfortably in his seat.

"Now, I believe my brother has something to tell you," Thor said, looking at his troubled brother that eyed him with a furrowed brow. Then he approached his brother, sitting by his side and whispered something to him.

"I'm not going to say that!" Loki jumped off his seat and looked full of rage at his older brother.

"Loki. It is the first step. We agreed to do this." Thor said to Loki, with his fake smile beaming at the rest of the team, trying to solve the awkward discussion.

"YOU and Odin agreed. I did not." He pouted like a little kid.

"Loki..." Thor threatened and after a long stare contest between them - the rest of the team was mute, entertained with the two brother's' interaction - Loki sighed and sat down in a childish manner, crossing his arms in front of him.

"I am truly sorry for trying to conquer your Earth, for killing hundreds of innocent people, destroy your city and unleashing the Hulk." Thor coughed awkwardly and Loki sighed once again. "And for killing Phillip son of Coul."

"There ya go." Thor patted his brother in the back and he shot a deadly glare at the God.

The rest of the team was silent, staring at the two gods in front of them, behaving like two madmen. Eventually, Bruce decided to break the silence and cease that conversation. "Well, that was odd. Let's continue the game?"

They all agreed immediately, diverting their gaze to the game, and Thor was asked to join them. He was thrilled for his brother behaving correctly, but at the same time, he could see him plotting already.

Loki watched the humans in front of him. He never really stopped to analyze the race, it never really interested him. They looked like ants, running crazy for survival. The only thing he actually envies them is their naiveness and their lack of awareness of the evils of the universe. They lived their pathetic lives, expecting to live forever, not knowing that there are actually other creatures more worthy of that long life - like himself. And another thing he found about the humans, in the worst way - they always fight back and stand for what they believe. He wishes he could do that with his fa- Odin. No one but Thor was allowed to even answer back without being punished and how he hated them both for that.

"Hey, Angel, want to sit by my side and play with us?" Tony asked with a smirk and Loki was snapped back to reality. He looked around to check if Tony was finally insane and talking to no one, but when he looked at the window behind the couch, on the end of the common area, he saw a woman. He furrowed his brows, not knowing why he didn't notice her presence. He can sense an ant sneezing miles away and he couldn't feel the presence of a woman, completely focused on a book, right behind them.

"I'm sorry Tony, but this book is better company than you. I think I'll stay here, thank you." The woman answered and Loki tried hard not to smirk at her boldness. She didn't even take her eyes off the book, not even to greet Loki when he entered the apartment. In Asgard, she would be flogged for not greeting royalty, but in that realm, she didn't even pay attention to his curious gaze.  _It seemed like he was invisible to her._

"Hey, mind your mouth, young lady. We have visitors. Don't embarrass me in front of the Gods." Tony complained and finally, the mysterious woman sighed, closed the book and looked up to them, her eyes not even stopping in Loki's' way. That intrigued him.

"I think you can do that all by yourself. You don't need me."

She walked closer to them slowly, smiling warmly as she kissed Thor's' head.

"Hey, big guy."

"Hi, Angel. I believe you haven't met my brother, Loki. Loki, this is Angel. Angel, this is Loki."

The woman looked at Loki just for a second and a smile formed on his lips when her eyes were locked with his. "Welcome, Loki." She simply said before turning her body around and walk to her window again, sitting on the edge and diving back to her book.

Loki leaned against the couch, shocked with the indifference the woman named Angel treated him. He was a God. She should just bow to him.  _And she will_. But at the same time, he thought about her name and about the way she looks.  _She really lives up to her name._  She was shorter than Loki, a lot shorter, actually. She was a petite brunette woman, wavy and shiny waist-length hair. Her eyes were a mix of grey and black, something he never saw in his thousands of years of existence. Her skin was pale as snow, but her cheeks and lips were red as his blood. And the thing that captivated him the most was her perfume. She smelled like fruit. A sweet fruit from the gardens of Asgard. Maybe she was a goddess in human form. Otherwise, she wouldn't smell heavenly like that.

Before he knew it, Loki spent the last hour thinking of that intriguing woman that totally ignored him.

"Hey, frosty," Tony called Loki back to the real world. Loki groaned and prayed he could kill the man right away. "It's time to show you your royal chambers."

"What dungeons do you intend to assign to me?" Loki rolled his eyes, already missing the luxury from his bedroom back in Asgard. His room was painted in grey, with golden drawings spread in the walls. His bed felt like it was made in heaven, the fabric touch of his sheets caused him to shiver after a long battle or a long period of time away from home. The room itself was big enough to have a couch and a fireplace. And let's not forget the infinite shelves filled with books that he collected over the years -  _a fine library, so to speak._ The window could even be opened to a small balcony, filled with beautiful flower with different colors that stay bloomed all year. How he loved the smell from his flowers and how he missed them... Those same flowers saved the lives of thousands of warriors. Loki didn't miss the flowers only for their beauty and smell. They missed them because they had healing properties that couldn't be found anywhere else in that realm, and probably in the entire universe. He, himself, take care of those plants, water them and watch them grow.

 Many were found trying to sneak to his room to steal them away for different purposes. Some just wanted to make money with them and were severely punished for that. Others had more honest aims. Once there was a man that had beautiful little girl sick, with no money to pay for her cure. They talked about Loki's' private "garden" in his balcony and so many things were said about them. The man - in absolute despair - sneaked to the castle, dodging the guards without being seen and entered Loki's' room, thinking he would be in a mission. But he was wrong and Loki caught him in the act.

"Tell me a reason why I shouldn't execute you here." His deep devilish voice made the man jump in fear, dropping the scissors on the floor. 

The man bowed immediately, kneeling on the floor with his eyes staring at the scissors.

"My prince, I beg your forgiveness for such atrocity. It is not my intention to steal nor being dishonest. I only aim to cure my little angel."

Loki blinked once, twice and lifted a brow, his deadly stare fading away.

"What angel are you speaking of?" Loki demanded.

"My daughter. She's just five years old. And the doctors don't even bother to save her. Many talks about the healing powers of your flowers and I am just a poor man in despair." The man took the courage to stand up and face Loki for the first time. Loki threw a threatening look at the man. "Please, punish me for the crime, kill if you decide to, but - I beg you - let me take the flowers to my little girl. She's all that I have left."

Loki scanned the man's' tears falling on the floor and his hands trembling in a begging position.

"Guards!!!" Loki yelled and they showed up. "Send this man to the dungeons. I'll decide what to do later."

The man screamed and begged for help from the prince, but he didn't even flinch. He didn't even dare to look at the man.

Days after, the man was released after two flogs on his back and his daughter was at home with mistress perfectly healthy, much to his confusion. Loki sneaked to the man's' house one night with the cure for her disease. No one else talked about that, and Loki was certainly not expecting a thanking note. 

But when Tony Stark opened the room to his new bedroom, Loki's' face of disgust switched to an almost surprised one. The room was not like his but was no dungeon. There was a large window, that had a beautiful look over New York; The bed was the same size as his, white silk sheets mimicking the color of the walls; The room was too bright, but one of the long walls was covered in a unique shelf filled with books.  _Midgardian books_.

Looking at Thor in disbelief, Thor smirked, proud of the surprise they had made to his little brother.

"Well, now that I introduced you to your room, let's teach you how things work around you. And how you should behave." Tony jabbered but Loki wasn't really paying attention to him, he was just scanning the books until he found one with a suggestive tone  _Tales of the Norse Mythology_ , where a drawing resembling Mjolnir could be seen in the cover.

He took the book in his hands, sat on the bed with his legs stretched and relaxed reading.

"Did he just ignored me?" Tony complained.

"Yes, that's the Loki I know," Thor spoke like a father proud of his son. "I think that's too much information for the day. Let's leave him alone. Loki, don't make anything stupid."

Loki nodded bugged by the talkative men and focused on the book, forgetting where he was and why he was there. For a moment he thought the book would be entertaining but after reading the first chapters he felt outraged and disgusted, curing Midgard for the offensive stories they told about him.

"What is this outrageous book?" He stormed back to the common area hours after, yelling to anyone who stood in his way. "Horrible lies and fake stories about Asgard and me!!! What would our people say if they read this??? I was never raped by a horse, nor have I ever gave birth to an eight-legged horse!!! You, humans, are more despicable than I thought!"

"What is he complaining about, really?" The Balck widow asked quietly.

"He read the myths about Norse mythology," Bruce answered.

She mouthed an "O" and resumed her life not minding the wrath of the God in front of her.

"Oh??? OH??? THIS IS A SEVERE OFFENSE TO OUR PEOPLE"

"Oh, it's not that big of a deal" Tony turned his back but the frost giant continued his complain. "You should read the fanfiction, Thorki."

Disturbed with all the discussion, Angel focused her attention to the show in front of her and couldn't help but smirk.

"Loki." She said with a calm voice. "Can I see your book?" The god spoke no words, as the petite brunette approached him, showing no signs of fear. "Oh. This book. Yeah, it's a piece of garbage. Don't be offended. People tend to make up stories to deal with things they don't understand. Now that we know more about you and your people, you should want to read this book" She handed him the book She was actually reading. "It's better, I think. You can have it. I read it three Times already. It's time to give it to someone else."

The speechless God just bowed his head um agreement and as a thanking and turned around to close himself inside his room. He wanted to see if the girl Angel was Smart as She seemed.

_What_ _a_ _curious_ _girl_ , he thought as he focused on the book.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few weeks were hard for everyone in that Tower. After Tony messing with the Mind Stone and Ultron was created, there were a lot of controversial conversations about the future of the Avengers and all the enhanced people. 

Loki's' presence was kept a secret from SHIELD and from the government, for obvious reasons. But he was behaving oddly well. Thor himself found it hard to believe that his brother - The God of Lies and Mischief - was tamed so easily. It wasn't in his nature. And what shocked them the most was the fact that he was left alone in the tower (while the Avengers were after Ultron) and he didn't even bother to try to escape.

"I'm telling you, he's starting to like us," Tony whispered to Thor and the Black Widow. They were having a small party before Thor leaves the Earth, - only friends were invited -, and they've been talking about Loki the whole time.

What they didn't know was that God was listening to them from the other side of the common area and smirking devilishly.

"Nah, it's Loki. He's always plotting something." Natasha admitted her worries. "What do you think, Thor?"

Thor became contemplative, unaware of why his brother was acting so strangely civil.

"I don't know. Loki seems almost... at peace." He couldn't believe in his own words as he heard himself saying them out loud.

"Are you sure he's not on drugs?" Tony joked, receiving a deathly glare from Thor.

"I'm sure there's must be a reason..." Natasha continued talking with her teammates, but she noticed something the rest didn't. 

Angel's' presence illuminated Loki's' face. She entered the room, a book on one hand and a glass of wine on the other, not minding the God's' attention. Instead, she walked to her cousin, Pepper, kissing her cheek so gently. Angel lost her family in a car crash when she was young. It was a drunk man that stole a car and hit the car where Angel and her parents were. They died and she - as if by a miracle - was not even scratched. Pepper took her under her wing and gave her a helping hand, even though she was just 5 years older than Angel. She was already working for Tony Stark back then and they were like family ever since.

Loki stood up and slowly walked in Angel's' direction, a soft smile on his lips. The smile on Angels' face warmed him up like the sun and made his heart feel less heavy. 

He was confused about that woman, and how in just a few weeks she got him under some kind of spell. Loki tried to fight the urge to go to her, but the pounding heart inside his chest made him weak. He hated that. But every time she talked to him, even if just about the books she was giving him to read - which by the way, were really good, - he would feel like a child with his platonic crush.

He approached the woman and said hello to her.

Angel turned to him, with a wide smile and something shining brighter than her eyes caught his attention. Her finger.

"Marcus!" She greeted the man behind Loki. "Come, I've told Pepper. Maybe we should make an announcement to the rest of the group."

Loki's' face was red with anger because of the man grabbing the woman by her waist, claiming her mouth his. And he was about to attack when Angel turned to him and asked him to listen.

"Everyone, may I have your attention?"The guests got mute and turned their heads to the smiling couple. "Tonight, after five years of love I finally decided to put a ring on her. I asked Angel to marry me and she said yes."

Everyone started clapping and whistling as Marcus connected his lips against his fiancé once again and Loki stormed out of the room, no one noticing him. Except -  _of course_  - for Natasha. She furrowed her brows at the behavior but decided to keep it for her.

Angel looked around her to find Loki but she couldn't see him. She was the only one that could make a conversation with him, without him threatening to kill her. She was the only one he could talk to inside that tower. The only one that wanted to know him, not resenting the flaws from his past. And that's why they were becoming something resembling best friends.

She left her fiancé in the common area and went to Loki's' bedroom, knocking on his door.

"May I come in, Loki?" She asked gleaming, opening the door and peeking inside.

"You're already in." He spat.

"Wow, someone's in a mood." She said startled but then she voice became soft and it twitched his insides. "I can come back later if you want."

Loki sighed and fought hard not to look back to her again. 

"I'm sorry. You may come in."

"Are you alright?" She asked, approaching the God.

"Surely I am." He simply said. The room was dim and Loki was sitting on the couch near the window, gazing over the city. A few years back, when he tried to conquer Midgard, he didn't have much time to appreciate the terrifying beauty of it. But now, as he tried to calm down his thoughts, he actually found himself fond of the hell of a planet.

"You surely do not seem well."  Angel approached the God, who was shivering as she moved forward. The air was oddly cold, her breathing could be seen as the form of white steam. She watched the strange blue color of Loki's' skin but she didn't fear him. She hasn't seen it before, but she sure heard Thor talking about it. "Is it the party?"

The God didn't dare to look at her, too ashamed for not being able to control his Jothnuhein form. Too afraid to scare her away. And he flinched when she moved in front of him, gazing deeply to his eyes. She was the only one that did not fear him for who he was, at least that's what she had told him. He didn't believe in her at first, but now, seeing her with the same kind and lovely look, he was finally certain of it.

"It's ok. I'm not overly fond of these parties neither."

"But you had a special announcement to make," Loki said harshly, diverting his look away from Angel.

"What's really bothering you, Loki? You can talk to me. Was it something I did or said?" Angel said with a flinch of guilt and an odd twist on her stomach.

Loki looked at the woman in front of him and melted, unable to push her away. He sighed, closed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak. Unfortunately, he was interrupted by The fiancé, opening the door like an insolent trashy human.

"There you are. I was looking for you." Marcus approached Angel and pushed her closer to his body, sending a wave of animalistic jealousy to Loki. If they didn't leave him alone that moment he would snap and kill anyone on sight, but luckily, they left. They left the Tower. For days.

Loki's heart couldn't hurt more. 

Thor even asked him what happened to him, only to be answered with a roll of eyes and a sigh of despair.

Could he be so weak to develop such strange feelings over a mediocre Midgardian?  _She wasn't mediocre_ , he cursed himself for thinking that way. But why would he do that in a time like that? He prayed the Gods to help him, but considering his past actions over the last years, he understood why they didn't. Then he wished to seek his mother for advice like he used to do.

But he couldn't. She was dead. And he was alone.

"She will be returning to work tomorrow." Natasha Romanoff interrupted Loki's' thoughts. He lifted a brow and she clarified. "Angel."

"I apologize, but I do not recall asking you a thing." He tried to sound polite but the resentment over the Black Widow's ability suppressing him was still meddling with his strings.

"I know." She smiled.  _How infuriating that is_. She looked around the common area, checking if someone was around to listen. Loki was holding a cup of coffee on his hand (his companion for the last three days) and she started whispering with a severe expression in her eyes. "I know you care for Angel as much as I do. Something tells me you care about her even deeper. I met her fiancé at the party for the first time and I didn't like him one bit. And the way he acted when I talked to him..." She made a clingy face and continued. "I took a look on his data files. Unofficially."

Loki heard the red-haired woman until the end. She wasn't that bad after all, he thought. She was resourceful.

"He was arrested for beating a woman to death and selling woman to satisfy... man." The God seemed utterly confused by her explanation and she rolled her eyes. "He sold women for sex, Loki."

He opened his mouth to speak but then closed it once again. She continued speaking.

"I talked to Angel, tried to see if she knows about this. And she doesn't. She doesn't have a clue. And if he lied about this, he could be lying about other things. I only worry about her. She is a good person, we're lacking people like her."

"And you are sharing the information with me, because...?" Loki tried to sound hard but the Black Widow rolled her eyes and smiled at the God.

"You care for her. More than you want to admit. But you can't fake it with me." She got up from the chair, leaving the God of Mischief speechless. But right before she's out of sight, she spoke to him. "I'm sure I can count on you to keep an eye on them."

What she didn't know was that he was clenching his fist under the table, too tight that it even made him bleed.

And as the Black Widow told him, Angel was there, reading her books after her work-shift. She was working as a mechanical engineer in the Avengers tower. Well, Ex-Avenger Tower. Now they don't know what to call it. And she looked more tired than she was before.

"Hello, Angel." Loki's' deep and sultry voice made Angel shiver improperly.

"Shit--" She almost let her book fall from her hands. Somehow she avoided looking at Loki and he noticed it. 

"I haven't seen you since the party." He said, sitting by her side, making her move uncomfortably away from him.

"I was on vacations." She confessed, opening the book in an attempt to send Loki away. he ignored it.

"With your fiancé?" A bit of hatred in his voice made her look at him.

"Yes." She got up and left him alone in the common area.

He didn't give up. After the conversation with the widow, he couldn't stop thinking about Angel and about how she could be in danger. It twisted his inside to think such a lovely person belonged to a putrid man.  _Well, she didn't belong to him yet._ If it wasn't because of Natasha, he would stay away from Angel, in an attempt to conceal the weird feelings inside his heart.

So he followed his mysterious girl to her bedroom.

Angel didn't hear him opening her bedroom door. Tears already threatening to fall from her eyes, she approached her mirror in the bathroom and took her scarf off, exposing the marks on her neck. 

She and Marcus had a discussion right after leaving the tower three days ago. He wasn't fond of her and Loki's' relationship, but after entering his room and finding them both alone in the darkness of the room, he was furious and demanded her to stay away from him. Of course, she fought back saying they were friends and that's when everything became hell. He yelled at her, she yelled back, not knowing who was the man in front her that she used to love. Then he made the unthinkable: he grabbed her by her neck with both his hands, a tight grip that made her head feel like it would explode. She gasped and fought for release, but his grip was firm and his eyes were bulging out reddened.

He yelled and called her names and after seconds of tension he was snapped out of a trance and release her, begging her for forgiveness. He cried and sobbed and she saw the man she loved behind those teary eyes and she forgave him finally. He spent the next three days making up for his violent behavior.

But it didn't end there. 

The night before coming back to work he asked her what she was going to do regarding Loki. She refused to end her friendship with the God and he slapped her in the face.

Now, looking at the mirror she didn't know how a man could change his behavior in a matter of seconds, from a gentleman to a wilding.

Loki watched her tears falling down from her eyes as she watched herself in the mirror with disdain. And his heart skipped a beat when he locked his gaze in her bruised neck; that made his blood boil his rage to whoever was responsible.

Angel wasn't aware of the God presence, once again, and she jumped back startled once she saw him, covering her neck with her scarf - even though she knew it was too late.

"Who did that to you?" He asked with a soft voice trying to hide his wrath. His eyes were too shiny, almost if he was about to cry, blinking more times than normal.

"Haven't your parents tell you to knock before entering someone's personal space?" She diverted the question but not her gaze from his teary eyes.

"Don't." He warned and she trembled. "Was it him?"

Her shiny eyes tried to find a way to escape his approach, stepping back slowly until her back hit the cold tiles of the bathroom wall behind her.

"Answer me." He demanded, stepping even closer, sending shivers along her spine once she smelled his minty breath. "Was it him?"

"Him? Who?" Angel was too overwhelmed to make a proper sound, so she could only rustle.

"Your fiancé." He almost cursed himself for calling that piece of trash hers.

She didn't answer him, so he took a step closer to her, his nose touching hers and he repeated the question. 

There was this unexplainable tension between them, she wasn't sure when it started. She wasn't sure if she felt it before and certainly not sure if Loki felt it too. But she was too transparent to him, clear like water and, let's face it, the God of Lies was in front of her. As much as she wanted to tell him no, she knew it would be worse; so she sighed, and leaned her head against his chest, sobbing and making his body still. 

Loki wasn't expecting that at all. He wasn't prepared for that.

And once the words started forming in her mouth as she told him the truth, all the rage and wrath he felt before were dwindled by her exposed vulnerabilities. So he embraced Angel in his arms without saying a word.

After a long talk, he made her tea and helped her calm down. They've been in her room for hours and no one dared to ask them what they were doing.

"Now, what are you intending to do?" Loki finally asked as she took a sip from the pink cup he chose from the kitchen cupboard.

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"You are leaving the man, are you not?"

"Loki, I've been dating him for almost six years. I can't just quit because of a mistake." She said, but as soon as she heard herself she knew how stupid that sounded. And by the look of Loki's' face, he thought the same. 

He grabbed her hand, not minding the spilled coffee on the floor and put her in front of the mirror, facing herself. Then, he took her scarf away and exposed her neck.

"You call this a mistake?"

"Loki..." She tried to leave, but he grabbed her and made her stand in the same place.

"Is this an act of a man that claims he loves you? A man that proposed to spend his life with the love of his life? Is it?" He shook her shoulders and it seemed to snap her out of her trance, making an angry face form in the mirror.

"You're not the one to talk. You had a fight with you're parents and killed thousands of humans in the process." She regretted immediately what she said but her heart tightened in her chest once she saw the hurt look in his eyes.

For the first time, Angel showed bitterness for his past actions. She showed what everyone shows to him. She was never like that with him, and the fact that the man she insisted on defending is changing that, it's infuriating.

He stormed out of her room without thinking, leaving the overwhelmed Angel sobbing on the floor, feeling physical and psychological pain caused by her finacé and a tightness in her heart for how much she had hurt her best friend.

Loki avoided Angel for the next few weeks. He observed her from afar, not giving her a chance to apologize, nor to talk to him at all. He knew how childish that might seem but he didn't mind. He had to build a wall around his heart once again and push that woman away.

But every time he saw her in the common area, pretending to be happy with her life, felt like a slap on his face. Her fake smile felt like millions of daggers cutting through his heart. But despite that, he regretted leaving her helpless.

Stubborn as his mind is, he didn't talk to her though. 

Not even when he caught her crying on the couch at dawn, with a crumpled paper in her hand and a box of calming pills one night.


End file.
